A Living Nightmare
by Remi1
Summary: McCall is taken hostage. Will she escaped unharmed?


A Living Nightmare  
PART 1  
Another Monday morning, but today wasn't like any other. McCall spent the entire   
weekend trying to get rid of this constant headache and no matter how many aspirin, hot   
compresses, or naps she took, this headache seemed to be around for the long haul.   
  
"Good morning, Partner. How ya doin'?"  
  
"Hey Hunter, can you lower your voice please? I have a horrible headache."  
  
"Crazy weekend partying, McCall? That doesn't sound like you."  
  
"That wasn't me. I hardly got out of bed all weekend. Listen," McCall said while   
rubbing her temples, "the sooner we start the sooner this day will end, so what's on the   
plate for today?"  
  
"Let's take a ride and we'll see," Hunter said a little too cheerfully.  
  
In route to the local hospital to question a suspect, McCall demanded they stop by   
Starbucks for her necessary fix of latte. This coffee is the only thing that's predictable in   
McCall's life. Her job is definitely not 9-5. She never knows where her work will take   
her or what time she'll be home. Therefore, her social life has severely suffered, but   
that's to be expected in her line of work.  
  
As the day continued the headache got worse.   
  
"Whoa Hunter, I have to stop walking for a minute. I am so dizzy. My head is killing   
me. Just give me a minute, o.k.?  
  
"You know McCall, you really should see a doctor."  
  
"It's a headache Hunter. It'll go away. It's not a big deal. Millions of people get   
headaches every day. I'll be fine in a minute," but the dizziness did not go away.  
  
Two days later after their daily stop at Starbucks, McCall had that faint feeling again, but   
said nothing in an attempt to avoid another lecture from Hunter. She could think of   
nothing else but getting through the rest of the day and going directly to bed. She was in   
her bed and fast asleep by 6:00 p.m. that night. However, when she woke up she was not   
at home. 'Where the hell am I and why do I feel so sick?'  
  
It took McCall a long time before her eyes were able to focus. She realized that she was   
handcuffed to the posts of this bed. The room was completely bare except for the bed on   
which she laid. She struggled to loosen the grip the handcuffs had on her wrists but to no   
avail. The more she struggled the tighter they got. McCall's head was still spinning and   
pounding so loud she knew for certain others would be able to hear it and come to her   
rescue. 'What the hell is going on here?' she thought. She tried to speak, but the words   
got caught in her throat. She tried to remember back, but could only remember falling   
asleep in her own bed. The raw pain she was in told her this was no dream. Instead, she   
was living a nightmare.  
  
  
PART 2  
McCall tried to slow her heartbeat down when it began to race with panic. She laid her   
head back down on the bed. For even that slight movement knocked the wind out of her.   
She could hear voices in the distance and wondered if they knew she had awoken. She   
remained very quiet, trying to hear what was being said. Only she was unable to make   
out any words. She nearly cried from all the echoed mumbles that blasted through her   
skull. She tried to regain her voice, but it hid from her. She lay there completely still and   
totally helpless.  
  
What seemed like an eternity passed by. She did not know just how long had passed. It   
could have been about 15 minutes or maybe even 2 hours. She had no way of telling.   
Time seemed to stand still. Her head continued to throb, her wrists were bleeding and   
badly stinging, and her stomach was cramping up. 'What day is today anyway,' she   
wondered. 'Is it a weekday? Would Hunter realize something was wrong because she   
didn't show up for work? Or was this just the very beginning of a weekend and no one   
would even realize she was in trouble for days to come?' These thoughts and many more   
flew into her head and didn't stop until she was interrupted by one of her captors.  
  
"Well, you're awake. Glad you could join us," said one overweight, ugly, burly looking   
man.  
  
McCall's eyesight was now back in focus. She could concentrate on this mans' physical   
features, but still had difficulty understanding the words that escaped from his mouth.   
Her ears were ringing, which made it difficult to hear what this man was saying.  
  
"Wha…wha…where am I?" That question took all the strength McCall had at the   
moment.  
  
"Doesn't matter where you are sweetie. You make yourself real comfortable because   
you're gonna be our guest for a long, long time. I brought you something to drink.   
This'll help you get strong." With that, the man grabbed McCall's head, tilted it   
backwards and poured a very nasty, clear, broth-like, liquid down her throat. She   
couldn't swallow the lot he had forced and began spitting it back up. "It's all right you   
pretty little thing. I'll take real good care of you," he said as he wiped off her chin with   
his flannel sleeve and gave a scary little wink. "Now, drink up" and again the broth went   
down her throat and right back out. She remembered nothing else after drinking the   
broth.  
  
When she next awoke, it again took her eyes a very long time to focus. She was still   
cuffed to the bedposts. That much she remembered: being handcuffed to this bed in this   
room…and that huge man. What else? What else could she remember? Voices. More   
than that of just one man. She was trying to piece all of this together when another waive   
of nausea and dizziness hit and took her off guard. Her stomach cramped again, her head   
began pounding, she broke out in sweats and began throwing up on herself as she was too   
weak to turn her head.  
  
Part 3  
"Where's your partner?"  
That's the same question Hunter's been asking himself for the last hour and a half. "She   
hasn't been feeling well lately, so she probably just overslept or something. I'll try to call   
her." But he had already tried…5 times. He kept making deals with himself. 'If she   
doesn't show up or answer her phone by 8:30 then I drive over there and see if she's o.k.'   
Once 9:30 passed, a new deal was struck for 10. Once Charlie asked the very same   
question that Hunter had wondered, he decided he wouldn't be overreacting at this point   
if he just showed up at her house. Maybe she really did over sleep. Maybe her alarm   
never went off. Or maybe she was really sick and all alone. At this last thought Hunter   
put on the siren and speed down the streets to find out that answer.   
  
Hunter knocked numerous times, but DeeDee did not answer her door. Her car was in   
the driveway, so she had to be home. Now he was worried. He used the key to her   
house, which he kept right next to his own house key, and let himself in. The house was   
silent. He searched downstairs and then upstairs, but McCall was no where to be found.   
He looked around some more and realized that her house keys were lying on the kitchen   
table. Where would she go without her keys? Or without her car for that matter? Her   
purse was on the floor in the dining room, wallet still in tact with $54.00 in it. O.K., she   
didn't take her purse or keys. Wherever she went, she didn't go on her own. Her bed had   
been slept in, but there was no evidence of a struggle. 'O.K. McCall, where are you?'  
  
  
'Where am I?' she found herself continually asking. Opening her eyes became a painful   
experience so she tried to keep them closed as often as she could. Her captors did not   
allow her to use the bathroom, so she was lying in puddles and dirty from head to toe.   
Today was the day she learned who her captors were. Previously, she had only seen the   
one man, but didn't recognize him at all. There was absolutely nothing familiar about   
him. But today all 4 men entered her room…one at a time. One brought a video camera   
and stood it up in a corner. McCall could see the red light go on. 'Action, rolling,' she   
thought, sick to her stomach and not the kind of sick she had been before. She lay   
helpless as they poked and prodded her. She could not fight back, she barely had strength   
enough to open and close her own eyes. There was one man, one man she recognized.   
'Who is he? How do I know him?' She decided she has nothing to lose by asking.   
  
"You remember me, do ya? Well, ya should. Your partner killed me. He murdered my   
wife and when he did that I died too. Your filthy partner. And you, you're no better than   
the company you keep. Ahhhh! That Hunter! I hate him. I've hated him for years, and   
knew that one day I'd get him. Since he killed my wife I figure I'll do the same thing to   
you. He'll pay. He'll feel what I felt. He'll know what's it like to lose the woman you   
love. I want him to suffer and he will, I promise you that! And you'll also suffer in the   
process. That's my plan and look at how well it's working. That's right, Willie Lester   
will make him suffer. Now shut up!" With that, he left the room. Camera still rolling.  
  
  
PART 4  
McCall was now top priority. Every available police officer was on this case. It's been   
two days and no one has been contacted regarding McCall's whereabouts. There's been   
no ransom note, no phone call. But on the third day a videotape arrived addressed to   
Hunter. He and Charlie watched the tape in horror. It was edited so that no one in   
particular, except McCall, could be recognized. At this point, all they know is that she   
had been kidnapped by what appeared to be at least 4 men. They witnessed the torture   
McCall was going through and both Hunter and DeVane were dreadfully sickened by   
this. Unfortunately, the tape provided no obvious clues.   
  
  
McCall knew she was being drugged. She guessed that she had been for much longer   
than her capture began. The only way it …her coffee! Every day she stopped at   
Starbucks. The other man. The other man here is the one who had been behind the   
coffee counter. Starbucks Guy and Willie Lester. Two down, two more to go.  
  
  
McCall realized through the haze that had become her existence, that the tapes were   
being switched out at least twice a day. The tapes have to be going to Hunter. She   
somehow has to let him know that Willie Lester is behind all this. Surely these men view   
the tapes. Surely she would be found out if she simply spoke Lester's name. How can   
she let Hunter know? She thought of Mores Code, but realized to her dismay that her   
coded message would never come out clear through the videotape. Her mind raced for   
answers between horrible pounding headaches. Sign language. She can casually spell   
out Willie Lester's name. She'll continually spell it out and therefore, even if the tapes   
are edited there's sure to be one full sequence where his name will be clearly spelled out.  
  
  
"Wait a second. Rewind that part. Look at her hands. Can you get a close up? What's   
she trying to say?" asked Hunter.  
  
"I don't know, but it looks like it could be some sort of sign language. Hold   
on…Macabe, get in here. You know sign language, right? Is that it?"  
  
"Yeah, give me paper and a pen, she's trying to spell something out. W.I.L.I.L.E.T.S.R.   
I think that's what it says."  
  
Hunter looked at the piece of paper Macabe scribbled on for what seemed like hours. He   
knew this was the only clue he could count on and it came directly from McCall. 'With   
all the pain she's going through she's still sharp as a tack,' Hunter thought with pride.   
"Willie Lester! Charlie, it's Willie Lester!" Hunter recounted the story of how his wife   
was wanted for murder. Hunter tried to get her to give up her gun, but instead she   
pointed it at him and Hunter had fired, killing her instantly. Willie vowed to seek   
revenge. "Well, it looks like he has. Get on it."  
  
  
  
Hunter felt like he questioned everyone who has ever known Willie Lester. The   
informants had indeed been very helpful. Willie had been hanging out with a group of   
three. One of which owns a cabin that's not too far from LA. Hunter was sure this is   
where McCall has been holed up.   
  
  
  
McCall was having trouble keeping her wits about her. It felt like she had been in this   
hellhole for weeks, months even, and she had no idea of when, if ever, she'd be free   
again. She had spent a great deal of her time in that bed crying. She had thought long   
and hard about her life…where it had been and where she hopes to take it. She spent   
much time being touched and prodded at by these 4 men. She spent even more time   
being sick and wondering if she would ever have another healthy day to live. McCall had   
all but given up hope.   
  
  
  
Hunter and a squad of police arrived at the cabin. They forced their way in, catching the   
men by surprise. Gunfire was exchanged. Only one man was fatally injured and that was   
Willie Lester - this was no accident. The fatal shot came from Hunter's gun.   
  
Hunter found McCall still cuffed to the bedposts. McCall thought this was just another   
dream. She couldn't quite realize her life was about to begin again. That thought   
overwhelmed her as she passed out.  
  
  
"Physically she will heal," the doctor began. "She's been through a tough deal though.   
She's been horribly traumatized. Emotionally…well, that's going to be the hard part.   
The healing process will take a very long time."  
  
"Well, time is something we definitely have…and I plan on spending all of mine with   
her," Hunter said smiling for the first time in days.  



End file.
